Complement activation occurs primarily by three pathways: the so-called classical pathway, the lectin pathway and the alternative pathway. The key proteins involved in the activation of the alternative pathway are factor B (fB) and factor D (fD). These proteins work in concert to initiate and/or to amplify the activation of C3, which then leads to the initiation of a number of inflammatory events. A third protein, properdin, stabilizes the complex of C3 and factor B but is not absolutely required for the alternative pathway to function. Factor B also helps solubilize immune complexes, has been reported to act as a B cell growth factor and can activate monocytes (Takahashi, 1980; Hall, 1982; Peters, 1988). Factor B-deficient mice (fB−/− mice) have been generated and IgG1 antibody response to T-cell dependent antigens and sensitivity to endotoxic shock appear normal in these mice (Matsumoto, 1997).
The alternative complement pathway is usually initiated by bacteria, parasites, viruses or fingi, although IgA Abs and certain Ig L chains have also been reported to activate this pathway. Alternative pathway activation is initiated when circulating factor B binds to activated C3 (either C3b or C3H2O). This complex is then cleaved by circulating factor D to yield an enzymatically active fragment, C3Bb. C3Bb cleaves C3 generating C3b, which drives inflammation and also further amplify the activation process, generating a positive feedback loop. Both components (factor B and factor D) are required to enable activation of the alternative pathway.
Recent studies have shown that the alternative pathway of complement plays an important role in the pathogenesis of several animal models of disease. Complement activation within the kidney after I/R is mediated almost exclusively by the alternative pathway (Thurman) and the alternative pathway plays a critical role in the development of arthritis. Perhaps most surprisingly, mice deficient in the alternative pathway have been demonstrated to be protected from nephritis in the MRL/lpr model of lupus nephritis (Watanabe) and from anti-phospholipid mediated fetal loss (Girardi), models that would traditionally have been assumed to be mediated by the classical complement pathway.
Several inhibitors have already been developed to inhibit the complement system at various stages of activation (Holers), although specific inhibitors of the alternative pathway have not been widely reported prior to the present invention. PCT Publication WO 01/47963, published Jul. 4, 2001, describes polypeptides from ectoparasitic leeches that inhibit the alternative pathway of complement activation in vitro and have substantially no effect on the complement activation by the classical route. These peptides were shown to bind to factor D; however, no in vivo application of these polypeptides was demonstrated. A reagent with the ability to specifically inhibit the alternative pathway in vivo would theoretically have several advantages compared with existing inhibitors of the complement cascade. First, for models such as renal I/R and antiphospholipid mediated fetal loss, that are primarily mediated by the alternative pathway, such an inhibitor should be equally effective as a pan-complement inhibitor yet should have fewer immunosuppressive side-effects. Although only one human patient with congenital deficiency of factor B has been reported (Densen), studies of gene targeted factor B deficient mice (fB−/−) have not yet demonstrated an immune-modulating effect for this factor (Densen; Matsumoto). Patients with congenital deficiencies of classical pathway components, in contrast, appear to have an increased risk of infection (most commonly Staphylococcus and Streptococcus). Inhibition of classical pathway components or C3 (common to all of the complement pathways) might also be associated with the autoimmunity (Figueroa), perhaps explaining why factor B deficiency protects MRL/lpr mice from developing glomerulonephritis, but C3 deficiency does not (Watanabe). Thus, inhibition of the alternative pathway may be better tolerated and in some cases more effective than classical pathway complement inhibition.
Allergic asthma is a common syndrome associated with airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) (Busse). In patients with allergic asthma exposure to inhaled allergen leads to increase in AHR and airway inflammation and studies have shown increased levels of biologically active fragments derived from the complement C3, C4 and C5 family of proteins, especially C3a (Humbles) and C5a (Krug) in bronchioalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. This suggests that in these patients, following allergen exposure, activation of the complement pathway through an allergen-induced mechanism occurs in the lung. Animal models have provided further insight in the role of complement for the development of allergic airway disease. Animals deficient in C3 or C3a receptor animals appear protected from the development of allergen induced airway disease (Humbles, Drouin; Bautsch; Walters).
Several different possibilities have been proposed to induce complement activation following allergen exposure. For example, allergen-IgG immune-complexes could trigger activation of the classical pathway and certain antigens may directly activate C3 via the alternative pathway (Kohl). In addition, neutral tryptase released from mast cells or pulmonary macrophages may directly (proteolytically) cleave either C3 or C5 (Schwartz; Mulligan). The three pathways of complement activation (classical, alternative, and lectin) converge at the central complement component C3. Therefore inhibition of C3 activation prevents cleavage into active C3 fragments but also largely reduces the downstream activation of C5 and the release of C5-derived activated fragments (Sahu). Recent studies have shown that inhibition of complement activation during allergen exposure of sensitized animals by using C3 convertase inhibitors, and therefore inhibiting all three activation pathways, reduces the late airway response (Abe) as well as the development of AHR and airway inflammation (Taube). PCT Publication No. WO 2004/022096, published Mar. 18, 2004, describes the inhibition of the complement pathway, preferably through the terminal complement components of C5-C9 that are shared by all pathways, and most preferably through inhibition of C5a.
Currently, therapy for treatment of inflammatory diseases involving AHR, such as moderate to severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, predominantly involves the use of glucocorticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory agents. These agents, however, have the potential of serious side effect, including, but not limited to, increased susceptibility to infection, liver toxicity, drug-induced lung disease, and bone marrow suppression. Thus, such drugs are limited in their clinical use for the treatment of lung diseases associated with airway hyperresponsiveness. The use of anti-inflammatory and symptomatic relief reagents is a serious problem because of their side effects or their failure to attack the underlying cause of an inflammatory response. There is a continuing requirement for less harmful and more effective reagents for treating inflammation. Thus, there remains a need for processes using reagents with lower side effect profiles, less toxicity and more specificity for the underlying cause of allergic airway diseases such as asthma and the condition known as AHR.